Solace
by RainbowsArePretty
Summary: "Wait. How am I gonna get home?" What if Annie brought Auggie to Danielle's dinner? Spoilers for Pilot. Annie/Auggie
1. Late, For a Very Important Date

So . . . I've had major writer's block for like a year and a half, but I'm back! This is an slight AU based on the Pilot, so obviously: Spoilers for Pilot. Anyway, I've seen a few fics including Annie's nieces – this will be one of them – and there's been some confusion over the girls' names. It's Katia and Chloe, according to IMDB, and a screenshot of the first episode. Just in case anyone else was confused (I know I was!) Links are on my author's page.

Note: I will not hold any of fan fiction creations hostage because I do not get reviews, or I get a few bad ones. In my opinion, reviews are for the readers benefit because if I can see what readers like and dislike, I will be able to improve my story. I don't hold stories hostage, and I won't require anyone to review before I post another chapter.

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the fandoms in which I have written under this account, nor do I own any publicly recognized brand, or product that appears in any of my work under this account. If you recognize it as being owned, then I do not own it. This applies to any and all work published under this account: RainbowsArePretty.**

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She was sitting at a tavern with her friends – how happy she had been to have made friends on the first day of work was something she wouldn't reveal, to save herself from embarrassment of her hidden insecurity –when, in the midst of a conversation about Ms. Irish Boston College, she none to gently grabbed Auggie's arm to look at his watch to find out she was late. Again.

"Oh, my god! I was supposed to be at my sister's house an hour ago!" she exclaimed, as she began to gather her things. The punctual gene seemed to have skipped Annie, as Danielle had never once been late in _her _life. Instead, she made the mistake of showing up _too _early.

At Conrad's and Auggie's confused and questioning looks, she explained further, "I live in her guest house. We do dinner every Thursday."

"That's okay," Auggie assured her, as she was in the middle of apologizing for her sudden departure. A thought seemed occur in Auggie when he asked, "Wait. How am I gonna get home?"

That made Annie halt to a stop and turn around, while Conrad laughed in his seat. While, yes, he probably could find a ride out of Ms. Irish Boston College, she didn't feel completely comfortable with just leaving him there. After all, what kind of friend would just leave the other without a definitive way of getting home?

"Come with me," she blurted out. That made Auggie, and even Conrad, who had since lost interest in the conversation, raise his eyebrows.

As she mulled and contemplated over in her head, repeating it a few times to ensure that it made sense, she began nodding. Who said you should think of what you say before you say it?

"Yeah, yeah. Come with me," she spoke, nodding for her own benefit, "My sister's always telling how I need to bring someone over, and if I bring you over, she'll stop trying to set me up for the next . . . three dinners, at least." Happy with her reasoning, Annie waited for his hesitating affirmation before looping her arm through his, leaving Conrad to flirt with the Maryland native.

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Once they were both safely inside the car, Annie began driving, she began thinking about how to approach asking Auggie what had been going through her mind since she began at the CIA. Her leg bounced up and down while her fingers tapped nervously along the steering wheel.

"Annie, what is it?" Auggie asked, finally breaking the silence.

Being broken out of her reverie, she spoke, "W-what?" Turning to look at him she saw him smirk knowingly, like only he could do.

"Annie, I can hear you thinking over there. It's loud. Loud and worrisome. So what is it?"

"I . . ." she began, trying to summon up the courage. His hand along her leg calmed her down; although she was sure he heard the sharp intake of breath when he suddenly made contact with her. "Are you allowed to tell your family what you do?" She bit her lip nervously, only barely managing to keep an eye on the road as she tried to gauge his reaction.

It wasn't that she wanted to brag to Danielle and Michael about her job, it was just that she wanted them aware, prepared; in case something did happen to her.

He sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair. She liked it better that way: boyish and messy.

"Don't do it, Annie," he warned, his eyes closed and suddenly looking ten years older.

She was about to ask what she wasn't supposed to do when he continued, and opened his eyes to face her.

"Don't tell your family what you do. It's allowed technically in the way that showing up drunk at the White House might be allowed. People just don't do it. I know that you want them to know what you, and by association they, signed up for," he could practically feel her disappointment, and replaced the hand on her leg again, and once he thought he had her attention he spoke softly, "Annie, I have four older brothers, okay? I know what it's like to want to tell them everything, but you can't. For you, and for them."

She seemed to accept this as an answer. "Thank you, Auggie," she spoke gently.

He was about to respond when she suddenly spoke, "Who the hell are you?"

Bewildered, he asked, "Annie, what?", his brow furrowing in confusion.

"Crap, we're being followed," she murmured, her attention directed to the rear view mirror.

"What are you going to do?" he questioned. It might not have been an ideal moment, but he liked to test her every now and then, and he wasn't about to pass this opportunity up.

"D.E.C. Method – determine, evade, counter-pursue," she responded knowledgably, "Hold on tight."

Auggie may have been able to suppress the praise at having obviously paid attention at The Farm, but he wasn't able to stifle the proud smile that appeared. He should have been prepared for the sudden halt and ear-splitting brake screech, but he was still caught off-guard, and held on the seatbelt in instinct.

He could feel her smiling at her victory of getting behind their pursuer, but she still managed a "Sorry, Aug," when she noticed his blanched face.

He managed a "S'fine," before he felt the car jolt into action twist down the crowded highway. He felt it bump as it swerved onto the street to try to corner the pursuer.

"Oh, man," Annie murmured as she swerved onto the sidewalk and crashed into a store display.

They both jolted back into their seats as the red car halted to an unintentional stop. She twisted the key into the ignition and they could both hear the engine stall loudly.

"Come on, you piece of crap car!" she yelled as she frustratingly hit the steering wheel. Auggie successfully stifled his chuckles.

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He liked to walk arm in arm with Annie, he deduced as she led him out of her car and down the stone pathway. He knew that she knew that she didn't have to instinctively curl her hand around his, or loop her arm around his.

He took solace in that.

His feet stopped when he heard her muttered, "Oh, crap," and the sound of her hair brushing against her shoulders as she gathered it up.

"What is it?" he questioned before her hands clutched his collar and straightened out his tie.

Her brow was furrowed and she knew that Auggie could feel the heat radiating from her cheeks. She placed her hands on his shoulders and slid them down his chest, under the pretense of erasing invisible wrinkles. "My sister, darling may she be, has decided to play matchmaker and set me up from someone straight out of an Archie comic," she shuddered, "So, be prepared in case I need to use you as an excuse to get the hell out of there." She patted his chest with an air of definiteness.

"Oh, the things one has to do for friends," he exclaimed melodramatically.

"Oh, don't start complaining now. When you meet my over-sugared nieces, Katia and Chloe, then you can start regretting it," she retorted.

With a chuckle of her own, she led them both into the comfort of Danielle's home.

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AN 2: Can I say how much I LOVE Hulu? OK, I couldn't remember all the lines of the top of my head, but if you can find the episode on Hulu, you can see the caption, without having to watch the episode all over again. You can even search the captions!


	2. Meet the Family

I'm sorry for the late update!

But, I have a great excuse for this. We went on vacation last weekend and I didn't have internet – even though I had the majority of the chapter written. Then on Monday, when I turned on my computer, I found out that only the first paragraph had saved, so I had to rewrite it all, with school beginning in the middle of the week.

So, sorry for the late update, but I have more chapters in the making (even though this was going to be a oneshot!).

On with the story . . .

xXx

"Annie!" Danielle exclaimed as the sister in question entered with Auggie in tow. Danielle raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms, bemused. "You're late. But, I might forgive you if you tell me who _this _is," she smirked.

Annie rolled her eyes, more for her benefit than anyone else's, and replied, "Danielle, this is Auggie. Auggie, my sister Danielle. Auggie and I work together, Dani," She finished her statement with a stern nod, ensuring Danielle wouldn't attempt to inference a relationship between the two of them.

Danielle's face lit up like a star and eagerly shook Auggie's hand. Dani, oblivious to Annie's silent warning. "Wow, it's so great to meet you. It's been _a while_ since I've met one of Roo's friends. She doesn't bring people home often," she shrugged, releasing her tight grip.

Auggie raised his eyebrow, bemused, "Roo?" he questioned, nearly unsuccessfully stifling his laughter.

"Oh," Dani recalled nostalgically, leaning back onto the countertop, "Well, when Annie was five, she was convinced she was convinced she wanted to grow up to be a kangaroo." At this point, both parties seemed oblivious of Annie's growingly red face, to accompany her growing embarrassment, "And so we called her Roo."

Before Danielle could recall anymore potentially humiliating stories from their childhood, Annie interrupted, "Dani, you said we were late, yeah?"

Dani appeased to her sister's silent request and nodded, "OK, I'll see if I can't try to stall. The girls should be getting ready for bed."

Annie muttered a quiet "Thank god," forgetting that Auggie would have heard her, and pulled him along as she padded out of the kitchen.

xXx

Annie had reached the corner of the stairs and was about to go up the steps when she felt a hand pull her back. With a frown, she turned around, and before she could deduce what was happening, Auggie had her pinned to the pinstriped wall.

His hands were on her forearms, holding her still. Although, if she would have admitted it to herself, his very presence would have held her still.

His fingers danced like little spiders, up her arms and neck, until it reached her face. If the heat radiating of her face didn't give her away, the shallow breaths she was taking certainly would.

The most infuriating part of the situation was the smirk that seemed permanently painted on his face, as his subtly gauged her reaction.

The back of his hands rested lightly on her cheeks, tickling her like a soft feather.

"You're blushing," he murmured, almost reverently.

And then, as quick as it had begun, it was over, and Auggie had stepped away from her and began searching for the banister. Once he was half-way up the stairs, he noticed that she wasn't following him, and he turned around. Annie was still by the wall, as if pinned by an invisible force.

He raised his eyebrows expectantly, "Well, are you coming?"

xXx

"Annie! Annie," were yelled by the two young girls before they both leaped out of their pink and blue beds and raced over to Annie, Chloe clutching on to her older sister's color to not be left behind. Each gripped Annie's leg and buried their face in her shirt. Annie hugged each head and kissed each bobbed hair.

Eventually both of the girls unlatched from their aunt, and Katia finally took noticed of Auggie.

"Ooh, who's that?" she questioned, her head tilting to the side and eyes squinting, a look she undoubtedly inherited from her aunt.

Annie and Auggie crouched simultaneously, and Chloe took this time to imitate her sister's expression.

"Girls," Annie began "This is my friend Auggie. Auggie this is my niece Katia." At this point, Annie nudged Kati closer to Auggie, so he could positively identify her. Katia shyly stuck her hand out. "Hi, Auggie," she said timidly. Auggie chuckled quietly, and shook her hand, once it brushed with his.

"Hi Katia," he responded.

"And this," Annie continued, "is Chloe." Annie didn't need to prompt the youngest Brooks daughter, as she enthusiastically shook his hand.

"Hi, I'm Chloe!" she giggled giddily.

"It's nice to meet you, Chloe," Auggie replied.

"Well," Annie stated puling Auggie up with her, as she glanced at her watch, "It's past the girls' bedtime and I'm sure that Danielle is going to come hunt us down any minute now. "

The girls understood the subtle hint and made their ways back to their respective beds, and curled into their pillows. Annie flicked the lights off, and looped her arm through Auggie's, but halted when she heard the Katia's exclamation of "Wait!"

Katia came barreling towards them at an impressive speed and when she reached them, she latched her arms around Auggie, hugging him unyieldingly.

"Bye, Uncle Auggie," she whispered, and then stepped back with a shy smile gracing her young face.

Slowly, a smile began to creep on to Auggie's face. "Bye, Katia," he managed out of the sheer shock.

xXx

Annie shut the door quietly, so as not to disturb the girls. Auggie still had a smile permanently glued onto his face. They stood against the wall as Auggie began to process what had happened. Annie glanced at him and studied him silently.

His hair was mussed, but she didn't feel the overwhelming urge to comb it that she normally did when she say men with no regard for their hair. It had a boyish just-got-out-of-bed type of look. She found herself blushing when realized what her train of thought actually was.

His eyes were sparkling when he spoke, "I . . . don't have any nieces. Only nephews. The Andersons were born to breed sons, I guess. I've got four older brothers, you know," he shrugged.

She nodded, "Yeah, I heard about the polygraph. You know that guy goes the other way anytime you're in the same room," she smirked, moving to standing.

He chuckled at that, and he felt her relax next to him.

She nudged him once when he was deep in his thoughts, "Well, now you've got two nieces. Just make sure to share them with me, yeah?"

He nodded as she looped her arm through his. "I bet Dani's getting impatient down there, don't you think?" she whispered to him conspiringly, as they scurried down the stairs.

xXx

Did anyone else realize that every section began with the word "Annie"? No? Just me? Ok.


	3. Of Wine and Car Drives

Big thanks to Rori Potter, oceanmoon, tweaty09, , cjewellm, Ryuuki, Maira der Panda, AlexisSophia, mag721, HattaGirl, Viktorija, Whoaa Kayy, Angels-heart1, Emaelin, NCISchick, meta scythe, Peppy87, Lady Light, Ebony-Miracles, jojobevco, wavingplasticbag, Swishla, Multicolored Paperclips, MaraudingSnitch1314, Shadow Cat17, Harpiebird, NotrogenFixation, Farrahmack, NCISlover96, vswimming12, HaleyJo, AllieMcD, and BabyBeaver for reviewing. It really means a lot.

Also, very big thanks to all my readers, story alerters, and favoriters as well.

By the way, I'm posting all fanfiction on my new livejournal, as well as here. It's rainbowsfics . livejournal . com, without all the spaces, of course. On with the last chapter.

xXx

Auggie and Annie made their way, arm in arm, down the smooth staircase, Auggie's hand gliding down the wooden railway. They both ducked their heads as they came in to the view of the rest of those invited to the ceremonious dinner party.

"Oh, Annie!" Danielle plastered on a faux smile as she skittered away from the gushing crowd, "You're just in time," she muttered, mostly to herself, as she tugged the two unwilling participants behind her.

Fake smile in place, she brought the two into the dining room, assuring that, with a wide-eyed nod, that they wouldn't try to object.

"Everyone," Danielle spoke theatrically, "This is my lovely sister Annie," she nudged Annie further into the room, as both she and Auggie were cowering near the doorway, "and her friend from the Smithsonian, Auggie."

She motioned them to two conveniently empty seats at the furthest side of table, and the awkward atmosphere of the room dissipated instantly.

"This is going to suck," she muttered, as the date that her sister set her up with began conversing avidly with her about his troublesome commute.

Auggie, sitting next to her and pretending not to listen, smirked, and nudged her subtly. She hid her smile in her napkin. Maybe this dinner wouldn't be so bad after all.

xXx

"Thank you, thanks. No, it's all right. It's a good thing Auggie pulled me out of the way," Annie smiled as she not-so-subtly ushered the Archie look alike out of the door. Once he was outside, she locked the door shut and, leaning against it, closed her eyes briefly.

After drinking too much wine, the mustached banker wasn't able to hold his liquor, and proceeded to be sick upon Danielle's wooden floor. It would have been Annie instead, if it wasn't for Auggie, who, with his finely tuned hearing immediately heard the tell tale signs, and, wrapping an arm around her, pulled her closer to him, and out of the line of fire.

Her eyes flew open when she heard the comfortably familiar chuckles from across the room.

"Just wouldn't leave, would he?" Auggie smirked, leaning on the countertop as Danielle previously had been.

"You spend a lot of your time smirking, don't you?" she mentioned off-handedly, as she pushed herself of the door and made a beeline for Auggie. Matching his position on the kitchen counter, she moved to grab Auggie's abandoned wine glass.

"Oh," he shrugged, "It's part of my charm. Makes me so mesmerizing," he shrugged, imitating humbleness.

"Uh huh," Annie spoke, unconvinced, and continued sipping his wine. It was silent, but not at all awkward, for a little while before Danielle strolled into the kitchen.

"Hey, you guys are still here?" She glanced at her watch. "It's late, I thought you'd be asleep by now."

"Late? What time is it?" Annie brow furrowed as she asked and set down her glass, and glanced at Auggie's watch.

He pressed the face of the watch, and _"1:05" _rang out, interrupting the calm silence.

"Wow," Annie ran her fingers through her hair, "It is late. C'mon Auggie, I'll drive you home,"

Auggie shook his head, messing up his hair even further. "It's late, and I can call a cab,"

Danielle had slipped out silently when he said this, and Annie answered, "Uh uh. No way I'm letting '_my hero' _take a cab," she smirked.

xXx

The car ride home was somewhat quiet, and certainly less eventful than the last car ride. Annie was drumming out a beat on the steering wheel.

Before either of them knew it, they were at Auggie's apartment. Annie stopped the car and both squirmed awkwardly in their seats.

"So . . ." Annie began.

Auggie decided to take her out of her misery, "That certainly was fun." After a while, microwave dinners and meals with one-dimensional girls got old. This was fun, and it reminded him of what being in a family was like.

He could hear her open and close her mouth, as if trying to decide on how to phrase something.

"Thank you," she blurted out. He had found that when not being able on how to say something, she usually just blurted out whatever she could come up, and sometimes, she ended up being a little vague.

"For . . . what?" he mentally went through everything he had done for her, and couldn't find anything in his files that would be worth thanking him for so randomly.

"For . . . for everything," she answered hesitatingly, "For being there for me during my freak out moments, and for coming with me to my sister's."

He sat in shock for a moment before his brain decided to work again. "Annie, you don't need to thank me for that. That comes with the territory of being your best friend."

She giggled softly – music to his ears now – and, placing one hand on his cheek, she chastely kissed the other one and whispered, "Thank you, best friend."

She pulled away and spoke again, "I hope you know what this means. You'll have to come to every weekly dinner now. Dani and Michael like you too much, and well, the girls aren't letting you go any time soon,"

"Well," he quirked, "I guess I'll just have to make a sacrifice."

Auggie felt his way to the door handle and turned back to her, "'Night, Annie."

She smiled softly before replying a "'Night, Aug."

She stayed in that position for a few minutes, waiting until she knew that he was okay and in bed, and replayed the events of the night.

Tonight, they were both sleeping in their own beds.

Tonight, nothing more was happening between them.

And yes, while he could have invited her in and she could have urged him to stay, they didn't.

Because, while something could – and possibly would – happen between them, it wasn't happening tonight.

Because tonight, they were best friends, and _only _best friends.

But that was okay.

Because she took solace in that.

And with that, she drove off, dreaming of warm pillows and her affectionate grey cat.


End file.
